Stabilizing sled for ditchers



Dec. 15, 1953 Filed June 24, 1950 E. V. BRISCOE STABILIZING SLED FOR DITCHERS 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 3mm Ernes 2' U. Bris cos Dec. 15, 1953 v BRISCOE 2,662,614

STABILIZING SLED FOR DITCHERS Filed June 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F' 22 /14 Ag flig- 3 F 11 l IPZI 27 Z Z \T 16 i I 17 QWWMD E'z'nesi 0.51115 cos I. ATTORNEYS U U Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UN ITED' STATES PAT ENiT OFF ICE;

STABILIZIN G SLED FDR DITGHERS Ernest Victor Briscoe, Kerman, Calif.

Application June 24, 1950; Serial No. 170,184

1 Claim, (01. 188--'7) The insta-ntinvention pertains to. an improvement in an implement for digging. or. cleaning ditches; the implement being:v tractor-drawn, adapted to travel in the ditch, and: having a scraper blade assembly: operative to scrape the bottomand sides of the ditch and to? deposit the spoil material on .top of the ditch banks.

The implement is wheel-supported, and by. reason of its relatively great weight. may tend to bog r skew at. theirear endwhen traveling in a ditch wherein the bottom is soft, as whenwet.

It is thereforethe major object of this invention to provide anovel stabilizing sled for the implement at the rear. thereof; such sledeffectively supporting the implement against bogging, and guiding such implement against lateral sliding or skewing at the rear.

A further object of the-invention is to provide a stabilizing sled, for the purpose described, which is mounted'onthe implementif'or adjustment between a lowered working position and a raised position for transport.

An additional object of the inventionis to provide a stabilizing sled, as above, having a power mechanism associated therewith for selectively adjusting saidsled between working and nonworking positions.

It'is also an object of the-invention to'provide a stabilizing-sled; for ditchers; which is rugged but simple in structure;rea'dilyadaptedto ditchers of thetype-described; and when in use greatly improving J the support" and tracking of" the implement;

Still another'object' of the invention is to" provide a practical and reliable stabilizingsled for ditchers, and one which' willbeexceedingly'eifective for'the purposefor-which'it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fullyappear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, somewhat diagrammatic, of a ditcher having the stabilizing sled mounted in connection therewith, with said sled shown in its lowered or working position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation of the rear end portion of the ditcher with the stabilizing sled shown in full lines in its raised or transport position, and in dotted lines in its lowered or working position.

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of the ditcher showing the stabilizing sled in its lowered or working position.

Referring now more particularly to the charac- 2: ters-ofreference on the drawings, the stabilizingsled is here shown as inounted inconnection with a ditcher which includes a longitudinal main frame, indicated generally-atl, which main frame has transverselyspaced side-beams 2.

At the forward endthe longitudinal main frame I is supported, fronra-front' wheel truck by means of'a:gooseneck 4i pivoted to thefr-ame; as at..5'. A post structure 6 upstands f'rom the rear end of'the goosenecki' in. rigid relation, and isadapted' to I be swung toand fro a power cylinder 7 which connects between said post structure'and-the main frame i In thismannerarticulation between the gooseneci: i and mainframe I is accomplishedfor the" purpose-20f adjusting the; front end elevation of" thelatt'er: The front wheel truck 31 includes atongue 8' whereby the implement is-coupled' to a tractor in: draft relation.

The scraper blade assembly' which theimple ment includes for scraping the bottomand sides of a ditch comprises a lister plow 9 suspendedfrom the forward-portion or" the mainframel, with extension blades 1 [3 mounted inconnection with said frame and projecting rearwardly' from corresponding rear ends of the lister plow 3 The extension blades H) are disposed to deliveronto the lower ends 0f"upwardly"and rea-rwardly diverging mainscraper blades ii of substantial length, which scraper blades H are suitably mounted in connection with themai'n frame l.

At the'reaiw end} the main frame" i is supported by transversely spaced rear wheels i 2 carried on" opposite ends of an axle l3, which axle is disposed below the side beams Z'some distance f or-- wardly oftherear ends of the'latter.

The stabilizingsled; for the above described ditcher, is-disposed at-therear endof the latter; and is indicated generallyat I ,"42

Thesled l4 compr-ises a rectangular but elongated sled plate I5 of heavy-duty gauge, and transversely spaced, longitudinally extending runners l6 are afiixed to the under side of the sled plate I 5 adjacent, but short of, opposite side edges of the latter.

The runners l6 are preferably of angle iron, and ahead of the sled plate I5 are bent upwardly relative to the extended longitudinal plane of said plate so as to form transversely spaced mounting arms [1.

At their forward ends the mounting arms IT project between the side beams 2 and are journaled to a cross shaft is which extends between said side beams. The rear portion of the main frame I is open between the side beams 2 so that the mounting arms I! may swing vertically between their full line and dotted line positions, as in Fig. 2.

The assembly of the sled plate I5 and the runners I6, together with the mounting arms i7, is strengthened by suitable cross members I9 afiixed to the top of the sled plate I5, and corresponding cross bracing 20 between the mounting arms IT.

A power cylinder 2| is pivotally connected at its rear end, as at 22, to an attachment web 23 which upstands from the front of the sled plate I5 centrally of its sides. At its upper or forward end the power cylinder 2| is pivoted, as at 24, to the top cross member 25 of an upstanding U- frame 26 included in the main frame I ahead of the cross shaft I8.

At its rear end the main frame I also includes an upstanding, U-shaped straddle frame 21 which supports an operator's seat 28.

The power cylinders 'I and 2| are selectively and independently controlled by a valve regulated, fluid pressure supply system (not shown), which system includes valves mounted within reach of the operator from the seat 28.

When the above described stabilizing sled is to be used, the power cylinder 2| is actuated to extend the same whereby the sled I4 is thrust downward to its full line position as in Figs. 1 and 3, and the dotted line position as in Fig. 2.

The sled I4 is positively maintained in this lowered or working position by the power cylinder 2|, and as the implement advances in the ditch, such sled rides on the bottom of the ditch, stabilizing the rear end of the implement, preventing the rear wheels I2 from bogging, and causing the implement to properly track lengthwise in the ditch without skewing to one side or the other. The sled plate I5 assures of the aforesaid stabilizing of the implement, while the runners I6 cause the desired tracking of said implement.

It is preferred that when the sled I4 is in its lowered working position it have a slight upward inclination in the direction of travel.

When the sled I4 is not needed, or when the implement is being transported from place to place, the power cylinder 2| is contracted, swinging the sled upwardly to its full-line position, as in Fig. 2, and in which position it is wholly outof-the-way, and does not in any manner obstruct normal forward travel of the implement.

The herein described stabilizing sled makes possible the use of a ditcher, of the type disclosed, in a ditch whose bottom is soft or boggy. as when wet or when the ground is of loose character; the sled when in lowered or working position maintaining the rear end portion of the implement against bogging, and causing it to track properly without skewing towards one ditch bank or the other. As a result the scraper blade assembly may work accurately to form or clean the bottom 4 and sides of the ditch and to deposit the spoil material on top of the ditch banks.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

A stabilizing attachment for a ditcher having a longitudinal frame and wheels supporting the rear of the frame, said attachment including a pair of arms, horizontally coaxial pivots adapted to connect forward ends of said arms to the rear of the frame, said arms being bent vertically between their ends to provide front and rear portions lying in the same vertical plane at an obtuse angle to each other, the front ends of the front portions being mounted on said pivots and the rear ends of the rear portions being normally engaged in the ground over which the ditcher travels, said rear portions being inclined at a small acute angle to the ground when engaged therewith, a platform constituting a sled fixed on top of the rear portions of said arms and having its rear portion engaging on top of the ground to slide thereover upon sinking of the rear ends of the arms into the ground, said platform extending the full length of the rear portions of said arms from the bends to the rear extremities of the arms, and means to forcibly move the arms and platform between ground engaging position and a position clear of the ground.

ERNEST VICTOR BRISCOE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 20,990 Wright Jan. 24, 1939 782,643 Custelin Feb. 14, 1905 1,320,129 Foster Oct. 28, 1919 1,372,396 Blackburn Mar. 22, 1921 1,625,226 Simmons Apr. 19, 1927 1,719,313 Scott July 2, 1929 1,812,663 Petersen June 30, 1931 1,990,101 Smith Feb. 5, 1935 2,101,661 Wagler Dec. 7, 1937 2,297,938 Briscoe Oct. 6, 1942 2,459,016 Cohen Jan. 11, 1949 2,507,774 Foley May 16, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 316,963 Great Britain Aug. 7, 1929 

